Women's Golf Wins ROAR-EE Invitational by 10 Shots

Pictured: Mia Kabasakalis
tied for the individual title this weekend as the Crimson won the
ROAR-EE Invitational.

By Kevin Rhoads

SUFFERN, N.Y. – April 16-17 saw the
Harvard women's team win another tournament – this time as
the crimson played its last regular season tournament of the
2009-2010 season at the Roar-EE Invitational hosted by
Columbia. Fifteen teams were vying for the trophy at the same
venue as last year – Spook Rock Golf Course in Suffern, New
York. Although the results were not as important as winning
next week's Ivy Championship – the team's biggest goal
of the year – several factors still loomed large.

The first was the same as always: focus on controllable
factors to have the best tournament possible. Second, it was a
great opportunity for the team to further sharpen their games in
preparation for Ivies. Further, with a national ranking in the
50's, there is an outside chance that the team could earn an
at-large bid to NCAA Regionals for the first time ever, getting
them to that level independent of the results of the Ivy
Championship. Historically, the only way that Harvard would
have the chance to qualify for Regionals is to win the Ivy
Championship, which carries an automatic bid to NCAA
Regionals. Last, the team also wanted to improve on their
second-place finish from last year's Columbia Invitational –
the only tournament that they didn't win during last year's regular
season. So there was plenty of motivation.

Although the forecast was for temperatures in the mid 50's with
rain, the rain mostly held off on day one. Harvard got off to
a good start, led by Junior Mia Kabasakalis ('11, Alameda,
Calif..) She hit 12 greens en route to an even par 72, which
left her one stroke back of the individual lead. Sarah Harvey had 32
putts on her way to a 76, a score she also shared with teammates Jane Lee ('12,
Alamo, Calif.) and Chloe Altchek ('13, Rye, N.Y.) Claire Sheldon
('10, Milton, Mass.) did everything pretty well but couldn't quite
find her scoring rhythm, shooting 78. Harvard posted 300, good
for a 6 shot lead over Yale and a 7 shot cushion over Penn.

Overnight heavy rain, temperatures hovering around 50 degrees,
and late tee times contributed to a slow second round. The
final group containing Kabasakalis finished in the dark around
7:20pm, and it tested the patience of the final couple of groups
who did not want to face the prospect of another night in New
York just to finish a couple of holes. Kabasakalis shot
74 in round two, which tied her for first overall. She hit 14
greens – a career best – and was close on many birdie
putts, but couldn't get enough putts to fall to win the title
outright. This was her 4th top-6 finish of the
season, and her first tie for 1st. Lee also played
very well in round 2, stringing together 14 pars in the middle of
her round, to also card 74. This gave her an impressive tie
for 4th – her best finish in a multi-day
event. Sheldon came back with 75 to finish tied for
11th. Altchek shot 78 to come in 14th,
and Harvey shot 79 to tie for 15th. Harvard
shot 302 to win by 10 shots over Penn, and 16 shots over
third-place Yale.

This was an encouraging result in the week leading up to the Ivy
Championship. All of the Ivy Schools were represented at
Columbia's tournament, so it could be argued that this was a
preview of next week's Championships at Baltusrol Golf Club in New
Jersey. But every team brings their highest urgency to Ivy's
and it will take all of the Crimson's focus, energy, and sharpness
honed over last weeks and months to be ready for the
challenge. Harvard is shooting for a record third-straight Ivy
Championship, and they will give their best effort next
week. It will be a fun challenge – one that the team is
very excited about. Thank you to everyone for their
support.